Alone in the Dark - Chapter 1
by facelesstemplar
Summary: The first of three chapters, in the whole fic, Cloud becomes slightly insane


Cloud stood in the darkness, alone. He could see nothing, and the more he stood there, the more he felt himself go silently insane. "Show yourself!" he shouted, his voice cracking with fear, anxiety......and of the never ceasing rage. "Show yourself! Whoever you are! Sephiroth?! Is this your doing?" Cloud was going into a frenzy. 'Who is this enemy?' he questioned. 'Am I going insane?' Cloud didn't have time to answer himself, as the mighty blade of Sephiroth was plunged deep into his stomach. "You let the down, Cloud! How could you? You let them down." The voice wasn't very loud, but terribly annoying. "Just kill me! Why do you torment me?" He screamed again in again, in agony and pain. The voice repeated as Cloud felt his soul beginning to depart.  
  
Cloud lay on the floor, losing blood in massive amounts, until he was startled as the horrid voices stopped. A light shone brightly into the once- mighty warrior's eyes. It took a few minutes as his slowly dimming eyes adjusted. And under the light he saw....Tifa, hovering limply. All of he limps hung down. "Ti..f..a. Ti..fa. Tifa!" Cloud managed to croak out. "You let me down, Cloud. How could you? You let me down. You let me die. Why?" came the voice his childhood friend. "Tifa...I'm...I'...I'm sorry." Cloud began to feel the coldness of death creep upon. "Sorry won't help me now, Cloud. Nothing will." Tifa said, as she slowly raised her head, to show the signs of torture. And all the scars that covered her body...and the one fatal scar running along her neck. The fatal scar that Cloud had let kill her.  
  
"NOOOO! TIFA! NOOO. I'm sorry, Tifa. I'm sorry. I'M SORRY!" Cloud awoke in a sticky and cold sweat. "It was...a dream, just a dream." Cloud assured himself. Cloud jumped as a knock at the door sounded. "Yea? Who is it?" Cloud called. "It's me, Tifa. Is everything alright?" Her melodious voice reassured Cloud that everything was right.  
  
There was a brief moment of silence as Cloud came to the door and unlocked it, letting Tifa into his one-person room. "Is something wrong Cloud?" Tifa asked, her eyes filled with worry. "That dream," Cloud paused a moment. "It won't stop. It won't go away." "Oh Cloud, why didn't you say something earlier." Tifa looked at him with compassion replacing the fear that once resided in her ruby eyes. "I know that we all have to recover from the hardships of our lives. Is there anything you want to talk about?" Cloud didn't answer. He was fear-stricken, and didn't want to admit how afraid, how deeply afraid he was. "Cloud." Tifa said boldly. Cloud looked at her, the pure fright lingering in his very soul. Tifa couldn't bear to see him in this state. "I want you to come over to my house to live for a while. Maybe you'll feel better with someone around?" Cloud nodded in agreement.  
  
For the last month, Cloud had been living in a cheep apartment in Kalm. The painful memories of Neibleheim had forbid him to live there. He had lived in his Costa Del Sol Villa for a while, but when he had started having the nightmares on a regular basis, so he signed the house over to Tifa, and went and lived by himself. It had been a week from the current moment when Tifa came to Kalm to see how her friend, and fellow AVALANCHE member was doing. She had heard some talk about his condition, but it hadn't sounded to her as though it was too bad, until he moved away. He hadn't talked to her much since she had come to the city, only when they bumped into each other. But even then, the blonde mercenary seemed distant, more vacant.  
  
No sooner had Cloud packed his things, than Tifa had called Cid, for a ride back home. They left the town quickly, and waited about ten minutes before the Highwind picked them up. "So, how the @#$& are you guys?" Cid asked, with his usual cursing. Cloud didn't answer. "We're going back to my house for a little R&R." Tifa informed cheerfully. "And then what?" Cid asked with an accusing look on his face. "What do you...?" Tifa didn't get it. "A grim smile cracked on Cid's face. "Oh! You pervert!" Tifa scolded as Cid burst out laughing. Tifa had an idea, "Well what about you and Shera?" After meteor, Cid had proposed to Shera. And now they were happily married, they had found out from Yuffie that Shera was expecting. Cid immediately stopped, grumbling a few curses, and went back to get mad at the helmsman.  
  
Tifa walked outside to find Cloud looking over the side of the great ship. "Tifa?" Cloud asked. "Yes, Cloud?" she answered. "Do you think we could have helped the planet any other way? Some other way that would not have left such damage?" It was indeed a fact that they had helped cause a lot of damage to the human race as Sephiroth had, during his reign of terror as he searched for his immortality and to become a god. "I don't know Cloud. But the planet is healing, and we didn't know all the outcomes of our actions. Everything happened for a reason. I guess its fate." "Bahhh! Fate is a joke!" Cloud said, still sounding as emotionless as he had when they left. "What do you mean?" Tifa asked, the worry coming back. "If fate is truly real, then we don't have a life of our own. It means we live in a box. We are slaves to some greater force that could destroy us if it had the very notion." Tifa was shocked at Cloud. Never had she heard him doubt something so much. "Well, whatever it is you want to call it. We didn't know any other recourse, so I think the world consider itself lucky as it is. Think about it. The world could have been completely destroyed. But it's still alive, although barely, it is. Does that mean anything to you?" Cloud fell silent. Tifa felt sorry for him. She never wanted to see Cloud this way, not in her life, but now she was, and it frightened her. Frightened her to death.  
  
Cloud began recollecting what had happened already during the day. It was around lunch, and the two still hadn't eaten breakfast yet. Cloud began to go over his nightmare, watching Tifa die before his very eyes. He began to cry, letting all the secured barriers he had set himself over his life go. Letting sobs escape from his soul. The cold had surrounded Cloud, and for the last month that's all he had, was the cold. And then all of a sudden he could feel warmth rise in his body once more. He looked slightly down, to see Tifa had strung an arm around his waist and held herself close to her. Cloud couldn't understand why she was doing this. He had always admired her for her courage against all the odds of the world, even when everything was against her. And her hope. Her hope was what was keeping her alive through and through with the courage she had. "Tifa." Cloud said quietly. "I'm here, Cloud." "Being apart from you for so long, in body and in mind, has made me realize how much I really care about you. How much of a friend you really are to me. And that has made me think about what kind of friend I am to you. And if it's possible that whatever is happening to me turns out to be true, I want to tell you I'm sorry for all the hurt, and all the grief I've caused until now, and I'm sorry for all the suffering I may cause you in the future." Cloud had not looked directly at her as he said all of this, so he didn't know what Tifa's expression was. Cloud was scared again. Would he be rejected, or would she want to take care of things even more. He was about to say something when he felt the embrace tighten, which was his answer. 


End file.
